


Circles

by Dis_connect



Series: Tales Told Out of Order [2]
Category: jacksepticeye - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ego - Fandom, Family Drama, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mark Fischbach Egos, Sean McLoughlin Egos, i promise i don't hate Chase, less cracky, less danti than usual, more septic family drama, tales told out of order, tame descriptions of violence, this ended up a lot more serious, time has no meaning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 10:52:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19722205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dis_connect/pseuds/Dis_connect
Summary: He's home for the holidays but things are wrong walking through the door and for Anti, family is Everything.





	Circles

When Anti returned home from school again, duffel bag slung over a shoulder and beard neatly trimmed, he sent a message to Dark right after he got off the bus.

_ A: Back in town. _

In an unusual turn of events, he received an immediate reply.

_ D: I know. Nice jacket. _

His grin was immediate, uncontrollable.

_ A: You fuck. Where are you? _

_ D: Brace for impact. _

That was all the warning he got before Yandere squealed and plowed into him, squeezing the life out of Anti. “You’re back, you’re back, you’re back!!”

Anti wheezed. “Yan, oh my god...my ribs…!”

Yandere gasped and released. “OhmygoshI’msosorryareyouokay?!!”

“Just a...little cracked.” Anti squeezed Yan’s shoulder. “All good.”

“We’ve been working on control in therapy! It’s...difficult.”

“But you’re doing so well,” a smooth, familiar voice rolled over them.

Anti watched Dark saunter up, looking positively colorful in a black suit with a blood-red shirt. He made sure to give Dark a very obvious once-over before approaching for a kiss. It quickly developed into something a little less safe-for-public but no passing comment stopped them. 

Yan’s high-pitched squeal of glee drew them apart, though, their voice rising to a shrill squeak. “Oh my god, you two are my OTP!!”

Dark cleared his throat when people cringed away from them. “Right. Shall we?”

They turned for the exit, Yan bouncing ahead of them, and Dark gave Anti a good look-over. “You’re looking more put-together than usual.”

Anti laughed. “Yeah? Got a haircut, had ‘em trim my beard, too. Nice, straight lines.”

“You’ve been eating.” His shirt didn’t hang nearly as loosely as the last time they were together.

“Mmhm. Some dick keeps sending me reminders to get some food and get out of the computers.”

“Sounds like a real nuisance.”

Anti snorted but smiled softly. “The best.”

They piled into Dark’s car and Anti grumbled about the cold. Dark just shook his head. “You poor little popsicle.”

“Colder than a witch’s tit out here! Shouldn’t the death-mobile be warm still?”

Yandere piped up from the back seat. “We’ve been here for over an hour! Dark wanted to be sure we wouldn’t miss you if you arrived early!”

Anti didn’t voice how warm that little nugget of information made him.

“Shut up, Yan!” Dark snapped. “ _ You _ wanted to get out and get some figure drawing practice in!”

Yan was unmoved by Dark’s sudden temper, one of the reasons they were able to hang out with him longer than most. “I  _ did _ and we saw some amazing body types! I also got some beautiful sketches of Dark looking really pensive and anxious, staring at the arrivals--”

“I swear to fucking god, Yan, I will come back there and rip your jaw off!”

“--you should have a look at them!”

Anti wore a pure shit-eating grin as he spoke to the backseat, eyes locked on the scowling, red face of Dark. “Maybe later, Yan. Would love to, though.”

Happy with that, Yan plugged in their earbuds and bopped about to whatever latest anime music had caught their ear. Anti let Dark stew in silence for a few miles before he spoke as casually as he could. “You’re a sweetheart.”

“Fuck. Off.” Dark sighed, leaning his head into his hand, elbow braced against the window.

…

“Mine or yours?”

“You know I love yours the most.” Green eyes darted down to Dark’s groin.

Dark’s expression became deeply put-out.

Anti sighed and rolled his eyes. “ _ Fine _ . Mine. I did promise I’d stay at home when home.”

“You know you’re always welcome to stay with me.”

“Ah yes, the luxurious Iplier manor. If you think the Septic clan is a bunch’a noisy, in-fighting bastards, the Ipliers will give you new meaning of the terms.”

Dark actually looked hurt. “You seemed to enjoy it last time you stayed.”

“Darky-Dark. Boo. My darling Dark Knight. We spent spring break locked up in your place, fucking away the days and eating everything in your kitchen.”

“Mmm. It was a good week.” Dark chuckled.

So it was that Anti found himself sending his boyfriend off and walking up to a door that was deeply familiar yet growing more foreign by the day. It represented his past and he had eyes on the future. Still, he rang the doorbell and took a deep breath. 

The door swung open to reveal Marvin...wearing a cat mask.

They stared at one another for a quiet moment. Anti collected himself first. “Uh...hey Marv.”

“Anti. That time’a year already, is it?”

“Winter holidays, pack up and get out for a few weeks, that sort of thing.” He shifted his weight. “Nice, uh...mask?”

Marvin’s standoffish front recoiled into a sudden need to redirect. “Y-yeah. Come in. Everyone’s in the living room”

“JJ taken over my room yet?”

Marvin closed the door behind him. “Think we’re all too afraid to set something off if we step foot in there.”

“Heh, good to know the summer of boobytraps’ affects are still being felt all these years later.” He dropped his bag in the foyer, a feeling of  _ home _ washing over him with the sounds of his brothers shouting in the next room - Jackie’s the loudest of them all.

“Yep. I’ll see you later.”

Anti blinked in surprise. “Hot date?”

“Work, you ass.”

“Moved to nights? You hate working nights.”

Marvin’s lips pressed together for a furtive moment before he smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, well...see you later.”

O...kay. Anti shrugged it off; he’d worked plenty of night shifts in his day. Do what ya gotta and all that. He strolled into the living room and bellowed, “Alright now it’s my turn!”

The brothers jumped but recovered in a blink. “Anti!” Robbie jumped up to hug him. 

JJ stood and extended a hand, to which Anti scoffed. “Really? Too cool to hug your brother now that the ‘stache is in?” He grabbed JJ’s hand and hauled him into a hug, squishing Robbie between them for a moment.

Jackie was too focused on the game to say hello. Anti casually walked by him and scooped the controller right from his hands, plopping into the side chair to continue playing as though nothing had happened. “HEY!” Jackie gaped. “You dick!”

Anti moved the controller away when Jackie reached for it and continued the game of keep-away through Jackie pawing at his face and pulling at his limbs. Only when there was the threat of getting punched in the nuts did Anti relent. “Okay, okay, damn. Good to see you, too.”

Jackie made a face and slugged his brother right in the shoulder. “Welcome home, jerk.”

And just like that, the order of things fell into place and Anti was able to relax.

…

It took a few hours for him to notice but when he did, Anti frowned and looked around. “Where’s dad?”

His younger siblings all glanced at one another and a weight settled heavy in Anti’s gut. Jackie spoke up. “Should be wakin’ up by now.”

“Waking up? It’s almost nine thirty.”

On cue the doorbell rang and footsteps thundered down the stairs. A woman’s voice sounded when the door was opened and his brothers piled on him when Anti jumped to his feet. “What the fuck is _that_ _bitch_ doing here?!” He raged.

Voices in the foyer became bodies in the entryway of the living room and Chase seemed surprised. “Oh. Welcome home, Anti.”

Anti choked on the sickeningly familiar mix of cologne and perfume. He saw red when Stacey smiled at him. “Anti! So good to see you again. Been a while! You’re all grown up.”

Only the subtle trembling of Robbie against his chest kept Anti from unleashing hell. He wrapped an arm around the youngest and squeezed, speaking through his teeth. “Yeah. Real nice.”

“Aw, Jackie-boy. Ya died.” Chase tutted, red-rimmed eyes on the screen. 

Jackie, who had abandoned the controller to hold Anti back by the shoulders, just offered a weak laugh. “Haha...yeah. Oops.”

“Boys, Stacey and I are gonna head out for a while. Don’t stay up too late. JJ, make sure Jackie brushes his teeth.” Chase smiled at Stacey. “C’mon baby, let’s go paint the town.”

They left a pall of sickness in their wake, the brothers waiting for Anti to absolutely explode and each of them slowly edging away but for Robbie, who was stuck. He didn’t seem to mind though, remaining attached even after Anti slowly removed his arm.

He did leap away, though, when Anti growled, “Let go of me.”

Robbie looked hurt and did his best to cover it up by imitating Anti’s stone-face. His baby face wasn’t entirely successful, though. JJ directed the youngest to sit down. Jackie only sat when Anti, slowly, resumed his seat. He cleared his throat and did his best to present a strong, solid voice and posture. “It’s still new.”

Anti’s eyes regained their focus and snapped to Jackie.

Despite all the cold fury in Anti’s eyes, Jackie didn’t cringe. “She started coming by after you left for school last time. It didn’t become a thing until a couple of months ago.”

“He’s drinking again.”

It was the monotone that was surprising, and perhaps most disconcerting. The brothers glanced at one another again, increasingly anxious and unsure of how to take this aspect of calm. Anti’s rage manifested in fights and blood and angry words through teeth clenched tight enough to crack. Their entire household was loud and physical and that went from father to son until Robbie. But then, Anti had been quiet once upon a time, too.

Anti studied their uncertainty, puzzle-solving at a terrifying pace and not liking the answers. “It’s Marvin, isn’t it?”

The guilt in their averted eyes was enough answer. Jackie still spoke up. “He just doesn’t know what he’s doing when he’s dru--”

“There’s no fucking excuses!” Anti jumped up and loomed over them, all calm fled. “He’s a professional fucking alcoholic and he knows better! That bitch leads him on with a little sob story about her kids, a lil’ taint tease, and he’s off helping her find the bottom of a bottle!”

“Anti--”

“NO!” He pulled at his hair and growled. “No I’m not going through this circle of hell again! No police, no pointless investigations, no more empty promises over and over and over that he didn’t mean it, he’s so sorry, please don’t cry I’ll be better I swear it, and the next night he’s off on another rager fallin’ into the walls and lookin’ for a body to blame with his fists until it’s big an’ mean enough to hit the fuck back!”

He stood quiet for a moment, awash in nightmares with breath heaving while his brothers looked at him in horror.

Oh.

Oh damn. Marvin had kept his word. Jackie had been too young to remember much beyond a sense of fear. Marvin was old enough to recall, to suffer nightmares for years, to receive showers of affection from Chase in the aftermath because Anti sure as fuck had zero trust to share. Marvin had kept his mouth shut about that dark time - no need to sow fear among the younger ones.

Anti owed him a drink.

...maybe dinner instead. Somewhere nice. Classy. Marvin liked the flash of a good suit. Anti could suffer a night in a monkey suit.

Jackie touched him.

Anti flinched back, snapping into reality and real time with the combined force of his thoughts. “I...I gotta go.”

He fled into the night, texting furiously.

_ A: Shit’s fucked. Need favours. _

_ D: Good evening to you too. Was just thinking about you. _

_ A: I stfg if you dick pic me rn I will come thru the phone and kill you. _

_ D: ...fine. Speak. _

_ A: Need some good dinner reservations. Classy. Tie not optional bullshit. _

_ D: Is this a treat for me? You know I enjoy your punk dgaf aesthetic. _

Anti paused and glanced around. He’d made some good distance in texting breaks and felt secure enough he wouldn’t come across anyone he knew soon. His brothers, wisely, had not followed him. Chatting with Dark was helping his mood, his heart rate, his sense of calm. He huddled deeper into his coat and dropped onto a bus-stop bench, thinking through his next moves.

His phone pinged and when he looked at the message, it was a gif of a guy dancing in an inflatable dick costume. An uncontrolled laugh bubbled up and to his horror, tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. He took a couple of minutes to get himself under control and rebuild his emotional foundations, breathing deep of the cold night air until he trusted himself to respond.

_ A: You’re so amazingly stupid sometimes. _

_ D: Host took my phone. _

_ A: Uh huh. Sure he did. _

_ D: Dinner? You? Me? _

He almost responded negatively but wondered. Marvin had always harbored a small crush on Dark, drawn to the airs of elegance he put on while in public. Anti got to see the screaming trainwreck that he was the rest of the time but Marvin would probably enjoy Dark’s public company.

_ A: Actually make it three. Special occasion. _

_ D: As you like. _

_ A: And I need you to find someone. I need them to go away. Forever. _

There was a long pause after he sent the message. He began to worry it was too much of a favour. Disappearing a person wasn’t exactly getting a table at  _ Chez Iplier _ . After an eternity, he had his reply.

_ D: ...do I need to involve Wilford in something? _

_ A: Maybe? Idk, I just want her gone. She’s bad for my family and clearly couldn’t take a hint. _

Another long pause. He followed it up with a more raw truth.

_ A: If I do it, she will die, Dark. You’ve seen me in a fight. She’s 100% soft civ. I will turn her into fuckin’ canned dog food and on this one, I stg I will enjoy every second of it. _

_ A: ...and I’m too pretty for prison. _

_ D: Details. _

Anti could almost  _ hear _ the gruff disgruntlement of Dark’s voice in that simple reply and he smiled while giving all the info he knew. There was another pause but this one held no weight. Anti relaxed into the bench and looked around, still alone and happy for it. 

He had to go back. That much was unavoidable. There was no running away from this. Not when he was little, not when he was older, and sure as hell not now. He had his brothers to look out for, no matter how they ragged on each other, and they weren’t going to endure Chase’s Wild Ride while he rode the highs and lows of Life With Stacey. She pulled his strings like a professional harpist and played her own games on the side while Chase followed, led around by the nose.

Maybe a little lower than his nose.

Anti’s phone rang and he jumped. “Jesus! Hello?”

Dark’s voice sounded perhaps a touch higher than normal. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah, why?”

“It’s been 20 minutes and you haven’t responded.”

Anti looked at his messages. “Oh...yeah, sorry. Guess I was just a little out of it for a minute there. And look at you, Mr Need for Validation.”

“You texted me about making someone disappear and then stopped replying. Forgive me for worrying.

Fair point. “Yeah, okay. Sorry. You totally would’ve gotten me killed if this were an action movie, though. This is right when I’d be creeping through a warehouse trying to not be seen by the fifty bad guys with assault rifles.”

“Oh Anti. I hate to inform you that I’m the super-spy. You’re the computer nerd in the van.”

They went back and forth on who would be who in what circumstances until Anti complained of being too cold to argue further. It was near to one AM and he headed home, thinking of a nap.

Marvin’s car was parked out front.

Anti’s gut twisted. He entered the house, quiet as possible, and listened. A soft thump drew his eyes up. Jackie sat at the top of the stairs, wrapped around JJ while their mute brother fought to escape his ridiculously strong grip.. Robbie was huddled against the wall, holding his face. He cringed away when he saw Anti.

Someone stumbled into the dining room table and Anti locked eyes with Marvin, who was all fury and fear. Without the mask, his swollen black eye was painfully obvious and the fresh strike to it had caused it to bleed. He was full of passion and love, forever convinced he could help their father be better...but Marvin was no fighter. JJ loved to box, loved to wrap his knuckles and go at a sandbag until his arms were weak. He was a beautiful combination of Anti and Jackie but he was too much a gentleman.

Anti had no fucks to give.

He stalked through the dining room and slunk around the corner to the kitchen just as Chase’s slurring voice rang out, following Marvin’s fall.

“...and you’re just the softest of ‘em, Marv. Always tryin’ t’fix…”

Anti glowered, a bulwark of rage. “Hell’s come home to play.”

Marvin grabbed Anti’s elbow. “Don’t--!”

“Get out of here!” Anti wrenched his arm free, forcing Marvin back in an unsteady step.

“Hey! Don’t treat your broth-AHCGNN” 

Chase had moved. Anti grabbed him by the throat and forcibly walked him backwards into the fridge. “You don’t get to speak!  _ I’m _ the one in control now!”

Chase flailed, turning purple, and managed to jab Anti just under the ribs. Anti released in surprise and swore up a storm when there was a hard fist to his nose. He grabbed when Chase tried to run and flung his dad back into the edge of a counter. Chase tried to kick, Anti dodged and landed a solid punch across Chase’s jaw. It was followed with a brutal uppercut that left Chase groaning and leaning hard on the counter. 

Anti calmly reached over Chase. The flash of a knife rushed such a primitive, powerful fear through Chase that he was instantly stone sober. “A-Anti…”

“Oh what’s the matter, pops?” He punched Chase deep in the gut. “Thought this was our favourite game.”

Chase clung to the counter and tried to breathe, knowing he would be done for if he sunk any lower to the floor. Anti stayed close, confident, eyes gleaming with power in spite of the blood flowing from his nose. He grinned and spread his hands wide. “Just think! We spent so many years with your drunk ass kicking me down the hallway when we could have had  _ so much more fun _ here! Just look at all these pretty tools! God, I could turn your face into a sinkhole and blend your fucking fingers so you could never touch a bottle again...”

Chase’s everything stopped for a moment when the point of the knife rested on the hollow of his collarbones. With a shock, he realized he’d closed his eyes and opened them to see Anti far too close, eyes drilling through Chase. 

“But you know my favourite tool.” He sighed softly and poked at Chase’s right side, grinning when his dad jumped and whimpered. “Oh yeah, I bet you still feel the dig of that knife...that pretty thing that good ol’ Uncle Schneep had to dig outta you, scraping bone the whole way.” He hummed with the memory. “I’d have it framed, you know. The blade that forced my dad into therapy so he’d stop beating the shit out of me. Like a trophy, yeah?”

He giggled and Chase tried to stand up a little more. Anti punched him in the very scar he’d been on about and Chase groaned, feeling his knees wobble. “P-please Anti…”

“And now.” Anti tisked, grabbing Chase’s cheeks with his free hand and mushing them together. “I see you just haven’t learned anything. Here we are. Back at the start. Going around and around because you just haven’t learned a goddamned thing.”

The next hit caused Chase to collapse and he coughed, curling in on himself defensively as blood streamed across his face. Anti growled and kicked his legs away, knife pointing at him. “Don’t you dare! You don’t get to be  _ weak _ ! Take your licks like a strong boy, right?!”

“I was wrong!” Chase gasped out sincere apologies that he knew fell on deaf ears. Anti was all or nothing and Chase knew he had destroyed all but their legal bonds. “I was wrong and I’m so sorry!”

“ _ So-Sorry! So-Sorry, ne-ver do-it-again! _ ” Anti singsonged mockingly. He squatted down, dragging the knife point along the anterior of Chase’s forearm. “What happened, pops? Did Stacey meeting someone else at the bar and drop you like a hot rock? Then Robbie was...what? Getting some water? Cut a little too close to your path? Marv got in the way? Tried to defend him?”

Chase started to cry, eyes darting about. “I...w-what? I don’t know! I don’t remember! Is...is Robbie okay? GAH!”

The knife dug in but kept moving, cutting a straight line from the middle of Chase’s forearm to his wrist. There was a sick joy in watching Chase press his lips together, shake, and sweat, working to keep from making noise. He knew noise equalled more punishment.

Good.

Anti let him hold his forearm to his chest, squeezing across the cut with his other hand. “To think I spent so many years afraid of you. This pathetic, weak little shell of a man. All sound and fury because there is no meaning in your life.”

Chase glared despite his tears and blood and pain. “And look how you’ve grown, my son. Living in the very circles you hate.”

Anti sneered and stood to deliver a kick to Chase’s side. “I am a god by comparison!”

Another kick. And another. Another. Another and another until Anti couldn’t anymore and collapsed to his knees, tears streaming from his face. “I...hate you...so much!” he seethed.

A shaky, bloody hand reached up and touched Anti’s cheek. Chase stared at Anti with soft blue eyes, regarding him with a love that burned like a brand. “I’m...I am sorry. Y-You...deserve...so much...better…”

His labouring for breath grated on Anti’s ears. He smacked his dad’s hand away, wiped his eyes, and gripped the butcher’s knife tightly. “I am going to end this circle once and for all.”

The knife came up but Anti’s wrist came down into another’s fist, their grip unyielding.

“Now, now, my dear boy. We have a one-stabbing-per-lifetime policy in this family.”

Anti whipped around to see his uncle stood there, Dr Henrik Schneepelstein. Behind him, Dark all but filled the doorway, staring intently at Anti. Marvin peeked around timidly, eyes darting between father and brother. 

Anti let go of the knife.

  
  
  


…

  
  
  


“I paid a visit to your father’s...friend.”

Anti twitched, the world coming back into focus from the middle distance. His eyes stayed forward, though, staring through the nurse’s station. “Oh?”

“I brought Host with me. Together we managed to make her see the benefits of leaving town. I suggested another country might be a good option, too.”

“Oh good. Thank you.”

It was so flat, devoid of all the fire that was Anti. Dark sighed and glanced around before grabbing Anti’s hand. The prolonged physical contact did the trick - Anti looked to their joined hands and tried to shake free. Dark squeezed harder until Anti looked at him. They didn’t do public affection. Like...hand-holding and snuggling and casual touches and...and...things that were considered... _ romantic. _

Dark was willing to risk Anti’s temper. “Let me in.”

A witty one-liner died on Anti’s tongue. He sighed and threw his coat over their joined hands, pressing the back of Dark’s hand against his stomach. “I’m fine. Just...different. Things feel different.”

“I’m told it’s natural to still love the ones that hurt you.”

“We’re not getting into pop-psy on these shitty chairs in this too-white hallway. Schneep set me up with a head doctor for that, thanks.” Anti grumped. “Part of the condition of not telling the police.”

Dark nodded. “The benefits of family that run their own business.”

“I didn’t want police. Bastards are about as helpful as nails in a balloon factory.” He frowned. “I don’t want my brothers going through that. Or...one of them going through it again.”

Dr Schneepelstein appeared from around the corner, rolling on Heelies and sipping from a juice pouch as he consulted a folder. Dark made a choked noise of disgust. Anti just smiled and squeezed his hand before releasing it to stand. “What’s up doc?”

Schneep nodded towards the door they were sat next to. “Good portents. Your father is doing very well in his recovery. Will still be a while before he can leave but physically he’s doing well. As promised, once he’s able to be up and about, he’ll be in a program for alcohol abuse. This time the recovery should be much faster.”

“And you’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Oh yes.” Schneep smiled, just a touch sheepishly. “I would have visited more often in recent years but things got a little warm around my practice so I had to...vacation. For a while.”

Anti nodded, not wanting a single detail of that escapade. “My brothers?”

“Good, good!” His smile became brilliant. “All bright young men in good condition. Robbie’s a little underweight but Jackie swears they feed him.”

“Robbie’s a garbage bin. Just eats and eats and never gains a pound.”

“It defies logic, especially with him being a YouTuber.” Dark added.

Schneep shrugged. “In any case it’s not unusual. He’s still young enough to be undergoing many changes. Next year he may be ten feet tall, we’ll find out. The rest are fine. Marvin healed up very well, Robbie’s injury was superficial, JJ’s a little high-strung but in good shape, and Jackie is...well...Jackie.” He paused, watching Anti stare through the window into the room. “Have you gone in yet?”

Anti frowned.

“It’s been four weeks. I’m sure he’d welc--”

“I’ll go when I’m ready. Just here to support JJ while he’s saying his piece to him. Dark was kind enough to give us a lift.”

“Speaking of, we should go. We have that reservation.” Dark cleared his throat and tugged his suit jacket into place. “And you still need to change.”

So it was that ninety minutes later, Anti sat in the back of a limo, watching his younger brother quietly freak out with excitement. He couldn’t exactly blame him, Dark had gone to the nines for dinner. He bought Anti a suit that cost more money than his last paycheck and sent a limo with flowers for Marvin. The driver was named Jim - a friendly sort that drove a lot more calmly than his excitable nature implied. Marvin bounced from one end of the seats to the other, poking at all the nooks and crannies and investigating the buttons. 

When his brother’s excitement came down to a simmer during their evening scenic tour of the city, Anti cleared his throat. “Marv.”

“Yeah? What’s up?” Marvin scooted down until he was sitting across from Anti.

Things between them had warmed considerably. Marvin had been the one to contact Schneep and Dark, which Anti was eventually grateful for. It took a few days to cool his head and find that gratitude, though, after everything that had happened. Anti linked his hands together and sighed. “I know...our family’s not really good with the whole ‘talk about our feelings’ thing. So if this sucks, I’m sorry.”

“Wooo, an apology from the oldest. Jim! Mark a calendar!”

Anti scoffed. “Whatever, prick. Like I was saying, I don’t know how to say it except that I’m...happy. Er, that you stood up for your brothers, for the family. You did good. Y’know…”

Marvin gave thought to tormenting Anti to his limits but this was supposed to be a good night, a gift given out of love. He took a deep breath. “Yeah, I know. I wish I didn’t but here we are. I’m sorry I was such an ass to you for so long. Some part of me started to think it was all in my nightmares because things were getting better, that you were the one being an ass for no good reason. And then this started again and I went to nights to be home when he got back from his nights out and I...we, we don’t break promises.”

A half-smile tugged at Anti’s lips. “We protect family no matter.”

They gently dapped and laughed at themselves. “We’re so cool.” Marvin snickered.

At the end of their tour, they stopped before  _ Chez Iplier _ , one of the finest restaurants in the city. Marvin, dressed in his absolute finest, stared at the restaurant in awe. “Oh god, Anti...do you know how long the waitlist is for this place?!”

“Not a clue. C’mon. I’m hungry.”

They strolled in, gave their names, and were escorted to the very middle of the room, surrounded by tables ladened with delicious dishes and the rich and famous, who all looked to them. Marvin stopped dead when he saw their table. 

Anti ran into him with a quiet ‘oof’. “What the hell Marv?”

His brother was flush and getting redder by the second. Anti looked ahead and grinned, spying Dark waiting for them in his finest suit, dark gaze focused on Marvin. He grabbed his brother’s shoulders and marched him forward. “Come on, Marvin. Don’t want to keep our guest waiting.”

“I am absolutely going to kill you when we get home.” Marvin hissed through a grin.

Anti just laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> Just like the tag says, this is a Tale Told Out of Order. Everyone's a bit older than in Won't Stop. And like the other tag, I promise I don't hate Chase. Just took different aspects of the egos and wove them together into a cohesive narrative that ended up working well.


End file.
